Chapter 201: Aqing! I

The milky aroma of condensed milk and a faint osmanthus scent—this Jin Xuan oolong is worth recommending, but its price is definitely marked up; Jin Xuan doesn't care about origin—it's a cultivated variety anyway.

Don't be polite, Aqing, slash it down to 110—we'll probably close at 140.

After lunch and a rest, the afternoon livestream shifted to the tea farmer direct-sales zone.

Aqing led the livestream audience through the tea farmer direct-sales zone, watching the little fox haggle.

Using his experience, An Sheng tasted the tea farmers' brews and gave his price, then Aqing introduced it to the audience in the livestream.

If any livestream viewers wanted to try, Aqing would buy a few jin from the vendor and list it on Yu Xueqing's Yinfu Shop; she didn't profit—just covered a bit of shipping cost.

As for the shipping cost, it wasn't profiting from customers—it was more like a courier rebate.

Once a certain volume is reached each quarter, the courier reduces shipping fees, creating a price differential.

"Boss, 180 per jin is way too expensive!"

Aqing had no skill in haggling; she was naturally introverted and usually bought things at supermarkets or online stores, where prices weren't negotiable.

So Aqing asked her mother, Chen Peipei, for a quick haggling trick.

Aqing held up Fuli Master high and shoved him in front of the tea stall owner: "Boss, dare you swear to Fuli Master that 180 is your lowest price? Our Fuli Master lives among the Great Milk Nanny and the Goddess Mazu."

"138!"

The stall owner, nearly crushed by Fuli Master's face, blurted out a price with a pained expression.

To have the River God Great Milk Nanny, the Sea Goddess Mazu, and the Taoist deity Fuli Master shoved in his face, demanding he swear on his conscience—how could he say anything after that?

If he said more, he'd get cursed by Fuli Master's nap.

"But! Let me clarify—138 is pure wholesale cost. If your livestream viewers want to buy, whether online or offline, it's 153, or I won't even break even." The stall owner scowled, explaining to the livestream the costs of storage, shipping, and labor—just because he bought at 138 didn't mean selling at 138 was profit-neutral.

Other costs must be accounted for; if you don't believe me, I can show you the purchase invoice.

"Pfft! Cheating old scoundrel!" An Sheng rolled his eyes at Aqing: "The price's acceptable, but hardly a value pick. Still, if he tries to undercut the livestream viewers, I'll beat him to death."

"Boss, Fuli Master says if you undercut our livestream viewers, he'll curse you to death."

"Oh! Fuli Master also says Jin Xuan oolong shouldn't have so many stems—pick through it first. Stems weigh too much."

Tea stall owner: "..."

Am I the kind of person who dilutes one jin of fresh tea with two liang of old tea—or cheap tea of the same type—and sells it as premium?

We're not from the same village, but can't you trust me a little?

Some teas need stems; others don't.

Tea merchants always hand-sort stems in their shops before packaging, presenting clean finished tea to customers.

But some unscrupulous vendors deliberately leave in extra stems to weigh down the batch and boost profit.

Jin Xuan oolong is all about milky osmanthus flavor—its character comes from the tea leaves, not the stems.

For strong-aroma oolongs—those heavily roasted—it's normal to have stems; different teas have different processing and final profiles.

Under An Sheng's guidance, Aqing selected over a dozen teas from the direct-sales zone and listed them on Yinfu Shop at fair prices as a fan appreciation event.

Mostly oolongs, plus some black teas and floral teas with distinctive profiles.

An Sheng knew the trade—he cut prices straight at the merchants' weak points.

If they slipped in a few less stems for him, he wouldn't say a word.

But if you try to make over twenty per jin profit, I'll start picking apart your tea—cutting straight at your arteries.

I know all the tricks, but they're basic.

Nothing compared to big tea merchants; if they want to cheat, you won't spot their profit margins without chemical analysis or plant science.

This stall owner's tricks were child's play.

Every tea stall owner An Sheng haggled with had a sour face.

But you couldn't say they were truly bad.

They'd never experienced making money this painfully.

"No good—I need to follow her. Can't let Fuli Master torment other tea vendors without watching." The tea stall owner searched for Aqing on Yinfu.

After typing 【Aqing and Xiao An (formerly Aqing's Tea Story Hour)】.

A video popped up.

"Huh? Xiao An, how do you know so much about tea? What—you say the village chief taught you all this? He made you read tea books?"

The tea stall owner watched the video, then glanced at Old Chen, who was patrolling the scene, along with other village committee members.

"Huh? Why are you all staring at me?" Old Chen frowned at the neighboring village's tea merchants and farmers.

We haven't done anything wrong to you! Our village farmers got the core zone, but you could still set up stalls on the periphery—wasn't that always the rule?

Why are you all glaring at me like that?

"Old Chen, you're a wicked man!"

"Huh?"

…………

"Aqing! I'm going out with Lao He to take a dump. Don't save me dinner—we're going hunting."

As closing time neared, An Sheng checked the time and told Aqing, then headed off to meet his appointment.

"Hunting?"

Aqing, packing up, froze and rushed after him: "Eat some shiitake mice or bamboo shoots! Don't mess with anything with national standards—watch out for a beating!"

Little fox hunting—honestly, Aqing had no idea what he could hunt.

Near Zhangxizhen, the only things the little fox could beat were shiitake mice, some bullfrogs that escaped from farms years ago, and a few fish—wild boars, Xia Beihu, and leopard cats were clearly out of his league.

Worried for his safety, Aqing called out to the little fox heading home.

"Don't worry!"

"An Mou has roamed unbeaten for ages—well, not quite unbeaten; my only defeat was on the bed, when you pinned me down and sucked my yang qi, nearly making me laugh like a pig."

An Sheng turned back with a soft whimper. Just as he stepped out of the agricultural market gate, he saw Bai Tao sitting in the driver's seat of a private car.

Bai Tao had clearly noticed An Sheng too—she opened the door, stepped out, and looked toward the market, where Su Qiyuan followed closely behind him as he emerged.

"Fuli Master."

"I've heard all about it from the elder—can you show me that move? You know, that one!" Bai Tao glanced at Su Qiyuan, then gestured excitedly, eyes bright with anticipation toward An Sheng.

"Mmm?"

(End of Chapter)